Family planning policy must be shaped by public opinion

The new Government Report from the central government states: "China will perfect its population policy step by step". This is the government's latest response to society's appeals to lift the controversial family planning policy. The government should shape important polices according to the people's wishes, says an article in Beijing Youth Daily. Excerpts:

The family planning policy has played a historically important role in controlling the Chinese population. More than 30 years on. The national conditions have changed remarkably compared with 1980 when the policy was introduced nationwide. The labor shortage, aging society and the social problems caused by the policy, are the main reasons behind calls to reform the policy.

Some places in Gansu, Shanxi, Hubei and Hebei have piloted ways to abolish the policy for years. The local population has not exploded as people who support the family planning policy warned.

Tens of thousands of parents lose their only child each year in China, and the assistance given to them from the government varies from place to place. The assistance is quite limited given their loss and mental suffering.

Even if the central government does not abolish the policy completely, the authority must improve the assistance system for the grieving parents, materially and psychologically.

The government should respect public opinion and convince the society of the rationality of their decisions with professional analysis and statistics.